The fifth meeting of the Student Senate for 2004-05 was convened in Studio C, Rarig Center, Minneapolis campus, on Thursday, April 7, 2005, at 11:33 a.m. Coordinate campuses were linked by ITV. Checking or signing the roll as present were 33 voting student. Chair Nathan Wanderman presided.

President Bruininks joined the meeting to discuss the University’s Strategic Planning process which began over twelve months ago. There was a discussion with the Regents to rethink the future of the University and strengthen its long-term future. He said that the world is changing dramatically and state support continues to decrease. The federal government is also trimming its budgets but costs continue to increase. There is also more global competition for students, faculty, and staff.

From that initial discussion, a report has been produced with 38 recommendations in it. The recommendations are in three clusters, student issues, faculty issues and culture, and University design.

President Bruininks said that he is meeting with many groups and gathering their responses to the report. He will then present his recommendations to the Regents in May, there will be a hearing on May 16^th, and the final vote will take place in June. Regents approval is required for some of the recommendations, such as merging colleges, while the rest are administrative actions.

While it is anticipated that at least one year will be needed to implement the recommendations, it is anticipated that there will be a cost savings of $15-20 million within four years.

Q: There were no student representatives on the advisory committees. When will students get involved in the process while it is happening, instead of after?

A: There was no student engagement at the higher levels of the process, but student input is essential at this time.

Q: Is the University concerned with diversity?

A: A major section of the report addresses diversity. The University has a deep commitment to continue its obligation to create, nurture, and support diversity. However, diversity should not be through one portal on campus. Most students of color do not enter the University through General College (GC) and GC students want a connection to the broader University community. Student progress and success rates are not high enough in GC.

Q: GC currently has lower admittance standards than the other colleges. To ensure that GC students are still admitted, will the other colleges be asked to reduce their admittance standards?

A: Standards will not be lowered, but the colleges will be advised to admit more students. A holistic approach will also be used to consider a student’s background and leadership traits. There is also another program to help, the Minnesota Cooperative Admissions Program. For those students who are not admitted to the University, the program encourages these students to apply to other institutions. If the students succeed, they can be automatically admitted to the University when there is available space.

Q: Where does Morris fit into the plan for the University to be a top three research institution?

A: Each coordinate campus will be encouraged to aspire to equal feats, maintain their quality, and find their niche in the market. Morris is already there because of its educational quality and level of engagement. The coordinate campuses are gained by their affiliation with the Twin Cities, but a better connection of resources is needed.

Q: Will diversity decrease through the recommendations?

A: There is two and one-half times more diversity at the University than at the K-12 level, so while numbers may change, diversity will not decrease.

Q: What changes are being proposed for graduate assistants?

A: The University has made a commitment to increase salaries and fringe benefits. Coupled with tuition benefits, it is a great package for graduate assistants. However, it costs the University $66 million this year.

President Bruininks then thanked the senators for the opportunity to talk, noting that further comments can be sent through the President’s website. The executive summary is also available on the site.

Once the President had left, a senator commented that he was concerned about how materials are being developed and presented to students.

Another senator said that the University is setting a poor precedent in higher education. Where will the University be in 10-20 years without GC? Many students start in GC and then go on to other colleges. It is also doubtful that opportunities will be present for these students; currently only 10 percent of students transfer from community colleges to the University.

A senator said that the University cannot just admit more international students to increase diversity. The University needs to cultivate inner-city students.

Another senator noted that the wording regarding coordinate campuses is vague in the recommendations so it is hard to know what changes the administration expects.

A senator noted that the full report is on the web, and is much longer, but it is just as vague as this summary.

In closing, senators were encouraged to weigh-in when the issue is discussed again at the University Senate.

MOTION:

To approve the Student Senate minutes, which are available on the Web at the following URLs. A simple majority is required for approval.

http://www1.umn.edu/usenate/ssen/050303stu.html

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion, a vote was taken and the minutes were approved.

Nathan Wanderman, Student Senate Consultative Committee (SSCC) Chair, said that he recently attended a Student Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting, which allows student leaders to talk with the Director of the Minnesota Higher Education Services Office. A discussion was held on increasing one component of the state grant fund by $200.

He has also been working with Mary Koskan in the Student One-Stop Office to make improvement to their website for student evaluations. He will be attending an upcoming Educational Policy Committee to get approval for new student questions, with the next step being the University Senate, hopefully later this spring.

Lastly he noted that Seyon Nyanwleh, Student Senate Vice Chair, is planning an Intra-University Student Leadership Conference. The purpose of the conference is to discuss common issues and define roles of student groups. If any senator would like to help with the planning, please contact Seyon.

Crookston – Deanne Roers reported that CSA is campaigning for positions with voting to be held on April 11. Commuter Student Week is next week for the one-fifth of the campus who do not live on campus. The campus will be celebrating its centennial next year, as well as the new student center which will open in June.

Morris – Jared Warren said that MCSA held elections yesterday and approved bylaw changes. The Student Representative to the Regents position, Student Legislative Coalition position, and Student Senate Consultative Committee position will be hired soon.

GAPSA - Jamie Larson said that GAPSA is celebrating Graduate and Professional Student Week. If students are interested in elections, they can find information on the GAPSA website. They are working with the Dean of the Graduate School to get more student inclusion in the discussions about program closures.

MSA - Rubens Feroz said that MSA approved a resolution to have alcohol served in the union. Elections will be held April 13 and 14.

MOTION:

To approve the following resolution:

DISCUSSION:

Nathan Wanderman presented the resolution, noting that while students are the largest group of stakeholders at the University, students are not involved in University decision-making. Wisconsin has s statute that requires students to be at the table during discussions, and students and administrators there are happy that this is in place. This resolution asks for a similar concept here, in the form of a Regents policy. If it was in place, it might prevent the current strategic planning process, without student input, from taking place again.

Q: Would a state law, like in Wisconsin, be better?

A: Possibly, but it would be better to work through internal processes first.

A senator said that the Regents are interested in what students have to say, and might support this type of legislation.

Another senator said that this resolution is important since it appears that most student input was ignored during the strategic planning process, as the town hall meetings were scheduled during the day when students have class and written questions were never answered.

A senator then noted that students are asked to help the University by lobbying for state funding, but are then excluded from campus planning.

A senator then warned that if students are appointed to groups, then they need to fulfill the commitment and attend meetings of groups to which they are appointed.

Nathan Wanderman said that he talked to the campus assemblies and associations to get their approval for this resolution. It will show a combined student commitment if all student groups are behind the proposal. If approved, it needs administration approval before it could reach the Regents. The administration’s position is that they already provide for student consultation.

With no further questions, a vote was taken and the motion was approved.

MOTION:

To approve the following resolution:

DISCUSSION:

Rubens Feroz presented the resolution, noting that its intent is to encourage the University to do more sampling, on a regular basis, of those who choose to leave the University and to disseminate the information to the colleges.

Q: How many students were interviewed in the last study?

A: 1500 students.

Q: From where did the facts come from that are in this resolution?

A: From the Office of Measurement Services website.

A senator said that it is important to know the reasons why students leave.

Another senator said that the resolution could be stronger if more details were included, such as the top four reasons from the last survey. The 13 credit rule and tuition increases might also be current reasons for the departures. The administration will need a reason to make a new study a priority.

Q: Are graduate and professional student departures to be included?

A: The resolution was meant to focus on undergraduates.

Rubens Feroz proposed that the resolution be tabled so it could be strengthened.

As an amendment to the Student Senate Bylaws, a motion majority of all voting members of the Student Senate at a regular or special meeting (36), or by a majority of all members of the Student Senate present and voting at each of two meetings (24). This is the first meeting that the motion is being presented, so 36 affirmative votes are needed for approval.

MOTION:

To amend the Student Senate Bylaws, Article V, Sections 1 as follows (language to be deleted is struck out):

ARTICLE V. STUDENT SENATE MEMBERSHIP, ELECTIONS, AND OFFICERS (Changes to this article are subject to vote only by the Student Senate)

1. Membership

For the purpose of electing representatives and alternate representatives, if any, to the Student Senate, qualified students shall vote within each of the following units of the University:

TWIN CITIES: Agricultural, Food, & Environmental Sciences: Architecture and Landscape Architecture; Biological Sciences; Continuing Education; Dentistry; Education and Human Development; General College; Graduate School; Human Ecology; Law; Liberal Arts; Management; Medical School; Natural Resources; Nursing; Pharmacy; Public Health; Technology; Veterinary Medicine

CROOKSTON

DULUTH: Business and Economics; Education and Human Service Professions; Fine Arts; Liberal Arts; Medicine; Pharmacy; Science and Engineering;

MORRIS

...

COMMENT:

It has come to the attention of the Student Consultative Committee that the application process for the Duluth and Twin Cities Medical School and Pharmacy programs have been merged into one process for each program. As collegiate representation in the Student Senate has been based on the admitting college and since there is no longer a separate entry for the Duluth programs, the motion is to remove separate representation from these units and combine their students with the students enrolled in the Twin Cities colleges.

DISCUSSION:

Q: Are the Duluth programs adequately represented through groups on the Twin Cities campus?

A: GAPSA is working to start a Duluth organization by 2007.

With no further questions, a vote was taken and the motion was not approved with only 26 in favor, none opposed, and 4 abstentions.

MOTION:

To amend the Student Senate Bylaws, Article V, Sections 3(a) as follows (language to be deleted is struck out):

ARTICLE V. STUDENT SENATE MEMBERSHIP, ELECTIONS, AND OFFICERS (Changes to this article are subject to vote only by the Student Senate)

...

3. Election and Duties of Officers

a. Election

The chair and vice chair shall be elected by the Student Senate at a special spring semester session of the Student Senate attended only by student senators elected for the following year. The vice chair shall be elected by the Student Consultative Committee at a spring semester meeting of the Student Consultative Committee. The outgoing chair shall preside over the elections. Non-senators and outgoing student senators may not be candidates for these positions. The chair and vice chair should not be from the same campus. In the event that no one is nominated for the vice chair position from a separate campus, the position will be open to all qualified members of the Student Senate. Terms of office shall be July 1 to June 30, and the person holding office is eligible for re-election.

...

COMMENT:

When revising the Student Senate Bylaws, it was realized that old language was used regarding who elects the vice chair that is in opposition to the election procedures stipulated in the charge for the Student Consultative Committee. The proposed motion removes the opposition, leaving the Student Senate to elect the chair position and the Student Consultative Committee to elect the vice chair position.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion a vote was taken and the motion was not approved with only 30 in favor, none opposed, and one abstention.

Seyon Nyanwleh, Student Senate Vice Chair, encouraged senators to participate in the Intra-University Student Leadership Conference April 22-23. He then thanked Cati Popp for her help in the planning.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:06 p.m.